The investigation and resolution of missing persons cases are
an important responsibility of the law enforcement community in
New Jersey. The difficult problems surrounding missing persons
cases demand from the law enforcement community a prompt, informed
and uniform response. It is imperative that missing and unidentified
persons investigations be given the appropriate degree of priority
treatment. Follow-up investigations and public safety activities
should be timely and comprehensive. The victim's family should
be kept informed of the progress of the investigation and family
referrals to the appropriate support services should be made as
required.

All available law enforcement resources must be utilized in an
appropriate fashion to ensure that all necessary steps are taken
to protect our children and other missing persons. To better accomplish
this objective each agency's chief law enforcement executive shall:

Provide leadership by developing a clear and concise written
order or directive based upon these standards and disseminating
it to all law enforcement officers of the agency.

These law enforcement standards will be meaningless unless the
chief law enforcement executive of the agency provides direction
and leadership through a well-defined written order or directive
which provides an agency based framework for these missing and
unidentified persons investigation standards.

At the direction of Attorney General W. Cary Edwards, and as the
First Assistant Attorney General and Criminal Justice Director
I have issued these investigative standards for missing and unidentified
persons cases to be used by New Jersey law enforcement in conducting
timely and comprehensive missing and unidentified persons investigations.

These procedural standards are effective December 4, 1987 and
supersede all previous Attorney General directives relating to
this issue.

In the first six months of 1987, 8,058 persons in the State of
New Jersey were listed as missing in the National Crime Information
Center missing persons file. These types of incidents present
a unique and significant public safety problem to the law enforcement
community. Law enforcement officers investigating missing and
unidentified persons incidents are frequently faced with a case
that generally lacks significant investigative leads. The investigative
problems are compounded by readily available transportation networks
which facilitate the rapid movement of victims and suspects. These
same investigative complexities occur in non-criminal missing
or unidentified person incidents.

In any case the accurate and comprehensive collection of information
and personal descriptors entered in a timely manner in the National
Crime Information Center computer system generally facilitates
a successful resolution to the missing and unidentified persons
case.

These investigative standards will provide an organized investigative
framework for the timely and comprehensive investigation of missing
and unidentified persons incidents.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT
CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Provide
leadership by developing a clear and concise written order
or directive based upon these standards and disseminating
it to all law enforcement officers of the agency.

Ensure
that all law enforcement officers receive appropriate training
in all operational areas relating to missing and unidentified
persons investigations as set forth in the agencies missing/unidentified
persons written order or directive.

Ensure that an appropriate initial law enforcement response
is provided to all reports of missing or unidentified persons
and that an appropriate follow-up investigation is carried
out.

Effectively
calm the families of missing persons and reduce their fear
through direct ongoing official communication regarding the
missing person incident.

Reassure
the family that appropriate investigative and enforcement
methods will be utilized by the law enforcement agency in
addressing the incident.

Interact with concerned community organizations and civic
groups regarding the missing persons incident as necessary.

MISSING
AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS INVESTIGATIVE STANDARDS POLICY AND PROCEDURES
FOR NEW JERSEY LAW ENFORCEMENT

The missing and unidentified persons investigative standards establish
the following procedural guidelines:

New Jersey Law Enforcement Agencies shall conduct a standard
preliminary investigation as soon as a juvenile or adult is
reported missing or an unidentified person is found and prepare
a standard police incident report documenting the basic facts
and circumstances surrounding the incident.

Prompt action shall be initiated in order to locate a missing
juvenile or adult or to identify any unidentified person.

Law enforcement agencies shall undertake any other immediate
action required to maintain order and protect the public.

Investigators shall complete investigative reports documenting
the facts and circumstances of the investigation.

FOR MISSING PERSON INCIDENTS:

As soon as a juvenile or adult is reported missing, pertinent
information and identifying characteristics regarding the missing
person shall be entered immediately into the National Crime
Information Centers missing person files. (NCIC)

A File 6 (NJLETS) teletype messages with all available, pertinent
information regarding the missing person shall be broadcast
concurrently with the entry into the National Crime Information
Center Unidentified Persons File. The teletype shall be broadcast
on a statewide basis and expanded as the need exists.

In addition to a General Police Incident Report, the Missing
Person Report for NCIC Record Entry shall be adopted as the
standard document for the collection of specific information
regarding a missing person in accordance with Federal Bureau
of Investigation - National Crime Information Center guidelines.

The New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Report Written Documentation
Form shall be used as appropriate. This document is available
for reproduction from the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons
Unit.

The Missing Persons Investigation Packet entitled "Missing Person
File, Data Collection Entry Guide" should be used to organize
data collection and to collect additional information from the
family of the missing person and other appropriate information
sources during a missing person's investigation. This document
is available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation - National
Crime Information Center.

Upon the return or locating of the missing person the record
shall be immediately cleared from the National Crime Information
Center missing persons file. (NCIC)

A File 6 (NJLETS) teletype message shall be broadcast immediately
regarding the return or locating of the missing person.

It is the responsibility of each entering agency to clear NCIC
entries and update NJLETS File Messages upon the return or location
of a missing person.

FOR UNIDENTIFIED PERSON INCIDENTS:

In the case of Unidentified Persons, living or deceased the
National Crime Information Center Unidentified Persons File
shall be utilized as soon as the individual identifying characteristics
become available which are necessary for the basic file entry.

A File 25 (NJLETS) teletype messages with all available, pertinent
information regarding the Unidentified Person shall be broadcast
concurrently with the entry into the National Crime Information
Center Unidentified Persons File. The teletype will be broadcast
on a statewide basis and expanded as the need exists.

In addition to a General Police Incident Report, the Unidentified
Person Report for NCIC Record Entry should be used as the standard
document for the collection of specific information regarding
an unidentified person.

The Unidentified Persons Investigation Packet entitled "Unidentified
Person File, Data Collection Entry Guide" should be used to
organize data collection and to collect additional information
from other appropriate sources during an unidentified persons
investigation.

This document is available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- National Crime Information Center.

When an unidentified person is identified, the record entry
shall be immediately cleared from the National Crime Information
Center Unidentified Persons File. (NCIC)

It is the responsibility of each entering agency to clear NCIC
entries and update NJLETS File Messages upon identifying the
previously unidentified person.

FOR MISSING AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS INVESTIGATIONS

Law enforcement agencies engaged in a missing or unidentified
persons investigation shall contact the New Jersey State Police
Missing Persons Unit and other appropriate law enforcement agencies
for assistance as required.

Where a crime or other unlawful act is suspected, law enforcement
agencies engaged in a missing or unidentified person investigation
shall work with the county prosecutor in developing the case
for criminal prosecution as appropriate.

Referrals to the county prosecutor's victim/witness services
coordinator shall be made as appropriate.

The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP), established
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a nationwide data
information center designed to collect, collate and analyze
a variety of violent crime information. VICAP provides all law
enforcement agencies reporting similar patterns of violent crimes
with the information necessary to initiate coordinated multi-agency
investigations.

In cases where investigation reveals that a missing person or
unidentified person has been a victim of a violent act, use
of the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) should
be explored.

Information regarding the VICAP Program is available from any
local Federal Bureau of Investigation Office or by writing to
VICAP Program, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, 22135.